Of the five species of penguin that I photographed in the Falkland Islands, the macaroni was the least common (at least in the Falklands — worldwide they are the most numerous). I only saw a total of three. These two and a single penguin, both caught up in colonies of rockhopper penguins. Luckily, these macaronis were on the edge of the colony so I was able to get pretty close with my wide angle lens. As with most species of penguin, a mating pair shares the duty of sitting on the egg(s). In this shot, it almost looks like the one is ordering the other to get off the egg. They were actually in the middle of a shift change.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 19mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/2000th of a second

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July holiday (at least everyone from the US). Here’s another group of king penguins doing their king penguin thing first thing in the morning as the sun rises on another day in the Falkland Islands.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/2500th of a second

I usually only honor requests from those under ten years of age, but my boyhood friend Lonnie Quinn requested an orca the other night and an orca I shall deliver. In fact, here are two shots of orcas — hunting close to shore on Sea Lion Island in the Falklands. The light changed from the orange hues of sunset to the blues of twilight as the orcas patrolled vigilantly for careless sea lions and elephant seals.
Top shot: Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second
Bottom shot: Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/500th of a second

Not much going on here. Just a gentoo penguin giving me the stare down — probably wondering what I was doing lying face down on the beach. This photo was taken at the Neck on Saunders Island in the Falklands. The Neck is an amazing place — a sandy isthmus connecting two mounds of land. All five penguin species that are typically found in the Falklands, including the seldom seen macaroni penguin, can be seen in this one spot.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second

In addition to having an impressive eight foot wingspan, the black-browed albatross also has very cool looking eyes. In this close up, you can see the dark feathers amidst all that white that give the bird its name. From a distance, it almost looks like a smudge of ash across the eye. These birds are very tame in the Falkland Islands and getting extreme close ups like this was no problem.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/4000th of a second

I’m off to the Caribbean again tomorrow — this time to Trinidad and this time for wildlife, so last post for a few days. Specifically, I’ll be photographing the nesting of leatherback turtles. Just a long weekend so more on that early next week. In the meantime, here’s another king penguin abstract. For this shot, I extended my zoom in the middle of a slow shutter speed to create the effect. Perhaps you like it, perhaps you don’t, but I figured I’d give it a shot.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 190mm) ISO 31, f/16 at 1/10th of a second

This little guy is a Magellanic snipe. In total there are about 25 different species of snipe in the world. The Magellanic can be found throughout South America, a couple of Caribbean islands, and also in the Falklands where I photographed this one. With each species, it’s all about the beak. They use it to probe beneath the soil — sewing machine style — in search of insects. Apparently the beak is much more complex than it appears and has sensory filaments that can distinguish larvae and other food sources beneath the soil even if they are out of sight. Snipes are also well camouflaged and blend in with the ground, which is where they spend the majority of their time.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/2000th of a second

This lone gentoo penguin was rushing to catch up with the rest of the colony after a long afternoon at sea. The sun had set, but there was still a bit of nice color in the sky as I used a dual flash setup to illuminate the penguin.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 800, f/7.1 at 1/250th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units

The sun rises in the Falklands as the activity at a rockhopper penguin colony kicks into high gear. Another day of hopping up and down rocks, swimming, fishing, building nests, eating, mating, squabbling with neighbors and doing all sorts of other penguin-y things.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 200, f/18 at 1/30th of a second

Here’s another in my gentoo sunburst series that I took on Sea Lion Island in the Falklands. These gentoo penguins had just come in from their afternoon swim and were taking a break at the top of the beach just as the sun was setting. I was able to get low to record the sun as a starburst on the horizon. I dialed in enough exposure compensation so that there was some detail in the penguins and it wasn’t a complete silhouette. A tiny aperture helped with the sunburst effect.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens at 220mm, f/32 at 1/400th of a second